Just like last year, Samsung’s Q1 2020 flagship announcement saw the debut of a trio of devices. The Galaxy S20 Ultra might have been the showstopper, the pampered child but it’s the S20+, the middle child that might end up being the scene stealer. In 2019, the S10+ was at the top of the heap, with Samsung opting for a device with a sub 6-inch screen – the S10e, as its entry-level model. This year’s S20+ is essentially the successor to the S10+ with the Ultra (that sports a 108MP primary lens) at the top end. But it’s the S20+ that has our vote and might just be the best Android device to buy right now. Here’s why:
It all begins with the form factor. For a while now, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10+ has been one of my daily drivers. At 186 gm, the S20+ might be just 10gm lighter than the Note 10+ and yet it seems to make a huge difference in terms of heft. The S20+ feels great in your hands and every inch premium. Samsung offers three colour variants in India, the Cloud Blue (the one we tested) is our favourite. We only wish Samsung had opted for a more distinctive design approach for the rear cam, that might remind you of some of the brand’s lesser priced offerings in the market. We’re glad to see the power button move back to the right spine (from the left on the Note 10+). There’s no 3.5mm headphone socket but hey, this is 2020 and if you’re still clinging to those wired headphones, it’s time you move on.
Almost ever since the Samsung Galaxy journey, exactly a decade ago, these flagships have almost always been the benchmark displays. The S20+ is quite simply the best out there – the 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display (1440 x 3200 pixels / 525 PPI) now adds a 120Hz refresh rate. Whether you’re gaming or watching videos or just scrolling webpages, it’s sheer joy. You do have the option of switching to the 60Hz display option if you’d like to conserve battery life. The 4500 mAh battery lasted us comfortably for a day during our tests with regular usage but that dipped slightly when we switched to 120Hz mode and increased our video consumption. Sticking with tests, the S20+ blazed through our AnTuTu benchmark test crossing the 500,000 threshold.
An Exynos 990 processor is at the heart of the device, Samsung has kitted the S20+ with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Processor in some global markets and the performance is very similar. This is an insanely fast device and won’t let power hungry users down. There’s 8GB of RAM and 128GB of Internal memory plus support for expandable storage. The in-display fingerprint sensor is probably the only experience that doesn’t quite keep up with the rest of the device in terms of speed.
The rear cam with its 30X zoom option is one of the highlights of the S20+. Samsung has reimagined its rear-cam set up. There’s a 12MP primary sensor (dual pixel with an f/1.8 aperture), a 12MP ultra-wide lens, a depth sensor and the new 64MP telephoto lens that is the talking point. Samsung’s flagships have been among our favourite smartphone cams and this one pushes it to the next level with its zoom photography. Results are quite impressive at 10X (Where you can also use the night mode) and at 30X, while lowlight photography gets a boost too. You can now shoot 8K videos but this might just be a nice to have feature given that there are very 8K TVs out there. We were impressed with the results of the 10MP selfie cam that captures slightly more realistic selfies (you could always get aggressive with the beauty mode for a more smoothened out version of your face for your Instagram feed).
The S20+ features the newest version of Samsung’s One UI (2.1), that is one of the best spins on Android with its minimalist interface. The Samsung Galaxy S20+ delivers on almost all key parameters for flagship buyers – a fluidic display, a stellar cam and decent battery life, at a price that is significantly lower than the S20 Ultra. It’s why the S20+ might just end up being the Android flagship of choice.
The Samsung Galaxy S20+ costs Rs 73,999 and is available in Cosmic Grey, Cosmic Black and Cloud Blue colour options.
